Three games from last night. I actually watched most of all of them. Quick overview: Tampa was fast, Detroit's own zone looked lost at times; Rangers lots of weak shooting, Pens capitalized on opportunities; St. Louis looks ready, Chicago is still Chicago.
All three look to be entertaining series.
Red Wings vs Lightning - One:
Tampa Bay wins 3 - 2
Tampa Bay lead series 1 - 0
Tampa Bay impressed me with their jump on the puck - they were fast. Datsyuk never had much space. Zetterberg also, had none. The Lightning weren't dominant, though, and both teams controlled the puck in moments. Detroit will have to tighten up against Tampa's zone entries - when they gave space, the Lightning had opportunities. This should be a tight series. It will be interesting to see how Detroit adjusts to get space and time for their big names. Kucherov's first goal was a sweet blast to the top corner.
Rangers vs Penguins - One:
Pittsburgh wins 5 - 2
Pittsburgh lead series 1 - 0
The Rangers played the first period pretty solid. A late goal by the Pens hurt. I'd have to watch again, but I feel like the Rangers generated very few good scoring opportunities. They gave up huge ones. The Pens are playing confidently - they played virtually no-risk hockey and jumped up when they had openings, which the Rangers gave them plenty. Lundqvist went out after the first - he got popped in the eye by the stick of Marc Staal, a very odd situation to say the least. Raanta played well as the backup - none of the goals were certain saves. Nash made a great pass on Stepan's first goal. The Rangers will need big games by someone every night, if they expect to win any against this Pens team.
Blackhawks vs Blues - One:
St. Louis win 1 - 0 in first OT
St. Louis lead series 1 - 0
This is playoff hockey at its best. Who needs goal-scoring!? Both sides had good chances. Brian Elliot, goalie for the Blues, said it well - the goalies played patiently, making the shooters decide where to put the puck first. This is usually a best case scenario for a team - when the goalies play patient and positional - the skaters just keep shot quality down and the goalies don't make guesses. St. Louis had good control and kept Kane and Toews contained mostly. Panarin had a great chance in the third (I think) but Elliot was solid on it and the shot hit him in the shoulder. Chicago didn't have Duncan Keith.
Glad I didn't watch the NYR game. Probably would've put another hole in my wall. Sorry I didn't get to watch Chi-Stl game. Sounds like a good one - plus who doesn't love Playoff OT games. Listened to some first period of Det -TB game. At time sounded like DET dominating and scored two goals. Slightly surprised to see TB came back and held on for win.
ReplyDeleteTonight, hope to get to watch some hockey. Pretty confident Nashville won't lose. :P
You can be confident of that.
ReplyDeleteIf you have to pick one game tonight, I say you go with...LA vs San Jose. Probably starts past your bedtime though. Philly/Washington.
Man, the Rangers had their usual game - they didn't play terribly, couldn't score. Then, there are the big give-aways...
Detroit had moments. But really didn't control the puck in the lane/slot. Tampa controlled things at times.
Yeah you gotta watch every STL/CHI game you can.